I hum. “Just about where I want to kiss you first now that I can tell people you’re mine. How about a restaurant? Or a bar? Or I could just do it out in the middle of a busy street so cars have to stop and people have to watch us?”
A soft blush rises to Mae’s cheeks, and she releases a laugh.
A laugh that sounds like a thousand angels singing in perfect tune.
A laugh that causes my chest to tighten with adoration.
A laugh that captured my attention from the very beginning.
I hated having her as a secret. It felt dirty, and that’s the last thing Mae is. Her existence shouldn’t be hidden. It should be celebrated.
I nod towards the laptop on the coffee table in front of me. “I’ve been looking at apartments to rent in Florida near the vet practice. Found some really nice ones for a decent price.”
I never fail to notice how Mae’s smile subtly fades whenever Florida is mentioned. Her adverse reactions are discreet, but I know my girl. Something isn’t sitting right with her, and even though I’ve tried asking, she insists she’s just nervous.
I’ve offered to pay for her college tuition at a school of her choice so she can study anywhere she wants in the country if she doesn’t feel prepared for this program, but she always scowls at me and says, “I don’t want a handout.”
Her glower is enough to shut me up because Mae Bexley is scary when she’s annoyed. But I like it. It gets me going.
“Bennett’s invited us out,” she says, changing the subject, and I cock my head at her. She knows I’ll bring this up later, but for now, I’ll allow her to put her avoidance technique into play. “He said he wanted to celebrate finally being free of you.”
I take the phone from her and narrow my eyes at the texts on her screen. “That boy is going to get it when I see him.”
We make it to The Salty Dog quickly, mainly because Poppy kept messaging Mae and demanding she hurry up, and when we walk in, hand in hand, the lights flicker on, and a crowd of people jump out from poor hiding places to yell, “Surprise!”
My eyes shoot to Mae, but judging by her wide mouth and eyes, she also wasn’t aware of this.
Balloons float through the air, and there’s a huge banner taped to the back of the bar wall that sayscongratulations on breaking your contracts.
Bennett points to it proudly, and Poppy stands beside him with a smile so bright I’m sure it can be seen from space. Evan is standing next to a table covered in party snacks, and he marches over to hand us a card, Leo balanced on his hip.
I take it from his hands and immediately chuckle, the card readingHappy sixty-fifth birthday!
“Leo picked it out,” he tells me as his son giggles, his chubby cheeks rosy. “Now you’re gone, I’m the oldest on the team, so thanks for setting me up as the new recipient of all the old man jokes.”
“You’re very welcome, West.” I squeeze his shoulder and thank Leo for the card, chuckling at how he’s attempted to write his name inside. And I use attempted loosely. It looks like a bunch of squiggles.
Music begins to play and Poppy and Bennett rush over to us as everyone else starts to converse amongst themselves.
“It looks great in here.” Mae beams.
“Bennett spent forever on the sign,” Poppy tells us, flashing a grin at my best friend, who sends her a playful roll of the eyes.
“I can see that.” Mae nods to the red paint spatters all over the white of the sign, the writing sloppy, the paper wrinkled.
“I’m a football player, not an artist,” is Bennett’s defence.
Amber works hard over at the bar, serving people their drinks at lightning speed, and when Bennett leads Mae away to buy her one, Poppy grips my arm.
“Are you two gonna be okay with everything going on?”
Mae and I have been featured in the tabloids, and people have been talking about us online. However, Flo pulled through and got Elevate Publications to run a few positive stories about how love conquered all for a football player and cheerleader.
As she expected, other tabloids followed suit, and although there will always be someone with something negative to say, for the most part, people have been mostly respectful. Apparently, people love love. She even did me a massive favour and got them to feature Emmanuel’s wine store in some of the articles, and ever since, business has picked up significantly.
Some fans aren’t happy about me leaving the team, but they’ll soon forget about that when the Storks lift that trophy at the end of the Super Bowl.
“I love her,” Poppy says, and I follow her gaze, my eyes latching onto a laughing Mae who’s got Leo in her arms, bouncing him up and down as Bennett and Evan smile beside her.
